ACTU wants $30 rise to minimum wage

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is pushing for a $30 a week increase to the minimum wage.

The union will ask the Fair Work Commission to grant the increase to 1.5 million low paid workers.

ACTU secretary Dave Oliver says the government has created the economic conditions to make a significant increase affordable.

"We've been concerned for some time that there has been a significant gap emerging between the minimum pay and what the real average weekly earnings are," he said.

"So the claim that we're seeking today will lift the rate from $606 to $636 - but that is still less than what average wage weekly earnings are for the rest of society."

But Innes Willox from the Australian Industry Group says the wage increase would destroy jobs.

Employers are expected to back a smaller wage rise.

"We all have sympathy for low paid workers, let's make that very clear, but wage increases have to be affordable and workable for the broader economy as well, and they need to be wage increases that allow jobs to be created not jobs to be destroyed," Mr Willox said.

"Unfortunately this claim falls into the latter category.

"It would make it very difficult, nigh on impossible for some employers, particularly those in small businesses or in regional areas to afford to keep staff or engage new staff."

Mr Oliver disagrees.

"I understand the employer associations will be out en masse saying the same thing that the same every year - 'now is not the right time, we can't afford it'," Mr Oliver said.

"But we have an arrangement in place now where inflation is down, unemployment is down, interest rates are down, productivity is increasing and the economy is growing.

"Now is the right time to award the wage increases that we're seeking.

"They are quite reasonable and they are certainly affordable in this current climate."

Mr Willox says the economy has slowed since last year.

"The other point you have to take into account is that from first of July employers are going to have to pay an increase in the Superannuation Guarantee Levy, that has to be taken into account as well and perhaps traded off as part of this increase that will be decided by the commission," he said.

The ACTU warns if the gap between the minimum wage and real wages continues to grow, Australia could end up with a "working poor", similar to the United States.

Source: ABC News, 27 March 2013